PoliticsDonald Trump Blasts MS NOW Reporter as 'One of the Worst in the Business' During Tense Press Briefing: 'Don't Ever Talk Again!'
MS NOW's Jake Traylor touched a nerve when questioning Donald Trump on touchy issues, visibly angering the POTUS.
Aug. 4 2026, Published 11:36 a.m. ET
President Donald Trump erupted at MS NOW White House correspondent Jake Traylor during an Oval Office media conference, mockingly calling the network "failed MSDNC" before telling him to never speak again.
The clash quickly escalated into a viral moment after the journalist pressed the president regarding his confidence in a high-profile federal attorney.
Traylor identified himself as a reporter for MS NOW and asked the president if he signed off on Todd Blanche’s deal with GOP senators to kill the $1.8 billion weaponization slush fund in exchange for their votes to confirm him as attorney general.
Donald Trump defended Todd Blanche during a press briefing, calling him 'great.'
“I didn’t look at it. All I know is that Todd Blanche is great. He’s going to do a great job. Everybody knows it. And I understand there’s been a sign-off, but I don’t know what they agreed to. I think Todd Blanche agreed to reconfirm things that he’s already said, and what he said was okay,” Trump replied to Traylor.
The reporter then followed up, “Can I ask, are there other avenues for your supporters to get paid through, potentially, if it’s not through the weaponization fund?”
Trump immediately mocked the outlet, calling it a "terrible show" with "the worst people."
'What a Terrible Show'
Donald Trump said MS NOW has the 'worst people' working for them.
“Who are you with?” Trump pressed.
“I’m with MS NOW, sir,” Traylor replied.
“You who?” Trump asked.
“MS NOW,” Traylor replied.
“MS NOW? What a terrible show — they have the worst people on that channel,” Trump snapped.
The intrepid and unflinching Traylor continued, asking, “Are there other avenues?”
“No, there are no other avenues that I know about. Go ahead,” Trump said, nodding at another reporter.
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The President Mocks MS NOW
Donald Trump mocked MS NOW, claiming they changed the name because 'nobody' watch them.
As the other reporter began, “Mr. President, on Iran talks—" Trump interrupted, turning back to Traylor.
"MS NOW — that’s the failed MSDNC, right? They failed, they failed, so they gave it a new name. You know why? Because nobody watched it,” the petulant POTUS exclaimed.
When Traylor subsequently asked if Trump was reconsidering the role of U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro after she humiliated him by dropping the federal case of nonexistent vandalism to Washington D.C.’s Reflecting Pool, Trump shut him down with his signature degradation.
“Are you reconsidering her role?” Traylor asked of Pirro.
Donald Trump Calls Reporter 'Fake'
The POTUS told the MS NOW reporter, 'Don't ever talk again!'
“You’re fake news,” Trump replied to Traylor. “Don’t ever talk again! You’re fake. You’re one of the worst in the business.”
The heated exchange took place amid mounting administrative tension over ongoing legal investigations and public-department friction. Trump had been openly criticizing former Fox News star and devout Trump acolyte Pirro for "choking" after she dropped a high-profile federal prosecution involving the alleged vandalism of the Reflecting Pool.
When the MS NOW reporter pushed for clarity on Pirro's future within the administration, Trump redirected his frustration directly at the reporter.
